


Shine No Matter

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Papa Kukui
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21790660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: It’s simply a normal night, so where were Kukui and Ash going? Nowhere in particular.
Relationships: Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
Comments: 19
Kudos: 102





	Shine No Matter

**Author's Note:**

> ‘Ello! You all ready for an astronomy lesson?

As the sun fell down from the sky, a lone, bloody red coloured car rode across the city, enveloped by the wispy hands of shadows and gusts. 

Ash sat in the passenger seat, sharp breeze piercing at his skin as he stared up at the eerie grey clouds, starkly contrasted with the pitch-black trails in the sky. Ears twitching and perking up, Pikachu winced as the radio screeched with static. Kukui wordlessly leaned forward, turning the dial so that muffled, melancholy music amplified their loneliness.

“... Are you mad at me?” Ash asked, voice barely more cheerful than the song as he rubbed at his eyes. Kukui jolted, gaping at Ash, before forcefully tearing his eyes away so he could focus on the road as the car swerved onto a dirt path. Each harrowing note of the music pressed against Ash’s chest more and more as the car shook up and down on the road. Pikachu noticed Ash’s weak breaths, rubbing his face and curling in Ash’s lap.

“I’m not mad.”

Gripping his seat belt, Ash’s eyes flitted back and forth as he yawned, the smell of dirt and nature settling his nerves just the slightest. He leaned back against the seat, staring as orange fire outlined the horizon before fizzing out like a blown-out candle, causing pink to web across the sky for a moment. Both Ash and Kukui peeked up at the dark sky devoid of life. “Then why are you so quiet?”

Stiffening up, Kukui’s eyebrows furrowed, barely visible in the dim car lights. He sighed, “I just don’t have anything to say right now.” Ash’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Kukui, but stroked Pikachu’s back like nothing’s wrong. “The city lights are still blocking...”

“The stars? Then what are the lights up there?”

“Either a satellite, a shooting star, not a Minior, mind you, an actual shooting star.” Kukui paused for a moment. “Or a plane.” He must have felt Ash’s concern, so he continued, “A satellite slowly moves in a straight, dim line and brightens and dims in a pattern. Shooting stars or meteors start as a thin line and taper out very quickly as they burn up in the atmosphere… The speed of planes is between the speed of satellites and shooting stars. I think you know how to distinguish them by now.” In a lowered voice, Kukui mumbled to himself, “Why did I even tell you all that?”

Ash was silent for a moment. Kukui glanced over and nearly jerked at the steering wheel as Ash yelled, “That’s so awesome!” Pikachu also gave an excited chirp, patting at Ash’s stomach as he grinned. “My old school would never have taught me that! If a shooting star is also called a meteor, what are meteorites?”

“Meteors is when a meteoroid, micrometeoroid, comet or asteroid falls through Earth's atmosphere, and if they survive and land, they’re called a meteorite.” Ash blinked. “You want me to explain the others too? Alright. Asteroids are large rocks orbiting around the Sun, while meteoroids are small rocks or particles orbiting around the sun. A micrometeoroid is a really tiny meteoroid, sorta like space dust.”

Ash hummed, tilting his head. “So are comets bigger than asteroids?”

“Actually, the difference between comets and asteroids isn’t size, but what they’re made of. Asteroids are made of minerals and rocks, but comets are made of dust of ice.” Kukui gave Ash a smirk. “Since sunlight melts ice-”

“Professor!”

Kukui lightly chuckled, “Anyway, it means that asteroids are formed closer to the sun, but comets are farther out into space.”

“Hm, that makes sense… There was a whole festival dedicated to the Millennium Comet after all.” Kukui clenched the steering wheel, before sighing.

“... You know, if you’ve seen the Millennium Comet of all things, I don’t get why you’re still so excited over things like meteors. You’ve probably seen many more rare sights on your journey as well,” he said, eyes widening like he understood something important about Ash.

Shrugging, Ash’s eyes sparkled like they held the secrets of the universe in them. “Appreciate the mundane things.” As Kukui mulled that over, Ash and Pikachu both relaxed, giving him a small grin. “So what are we doing?”

“Wh- Isn’t it obvious?” Ash shook his head, nearly standing up in the car in awe as the city lights faded from sight, replaced with white freckles in the sky. The dark clouds framed around the full moon, illuminated by the gleam. 

“Whoa, the moon’s so bright! I’m so glad I decided to come! Rotom, can you take a pic-”

“This is a night just for you and me.” Pikachu gave a wave and anxious chirp, hopping up and down in Ash’s lap. “And Pikachu. But that’s beside the point. Even the best cameras don’t always capture the beauty of something.” Kukui chuckled to himself. “Then again, I never really paid attention to the moon under the light of the stars.” Ash could feel the pride rolling off of Kukui like a hug, warm and soothing, his own bubbly nature shining brighter than the stars.

Wait. The stars! Ash gave a loud gasp, eyes wide as the car stopped in a spot where all the shining lights seemed to surround them. “Whoa...” The stars were twinkling like a field of pure white snow under sunlight.

“Yeah, the moon’s a little too bright-” Kukui grumbled.

“What? This is perfect!” There was a moment of silence, only filled with the soft melody of the radio clipping in and out, like it was too shy to sing out. Ash unclipped his seat belt and hopped out of the car, twirling with Pikachu under the stars.

Glancing at Ash as his eyes flashed with wonder, Kukui’s own eyes drifted up to where the stars filled the sky. “So… You probably could have guessed that satellites move faster than stars. Ironic, since you move more than most people I know!”

Ash tossed Pikachu up and down with a giggle, cap on the verge of falling off. “What do you mean, professor?”

“Never mind.” Walking next to Ash, Kukui put his hands on his hips. “Do you want to know the difference between planets and stars-” At Ash nodding his head off, Kukui chuckled affectionately, explaining, “Planets don’t give off any light, all we see is their reflected sunlight. Stars are very far away, so even though they give off lots of light, they still look like they’re twinkling. While planets rise and set, stars move in a circular motion around the North Star. Can you point out some of the constellations?”

Puffing his chest out, Ash pointed upwards. “That’s the Pikachu constellation!” Pikachu pumped his fists, cheering. Kukui blinked, before bursting out in giggles while covering his face. “What? That’s what it still looks like to me!”

“Alright alright, that’s fair. Look, of the 88 official constellations, only 36 are in the Northern Hemisphere.” Kukui side-eyed Ash. “Do I have to explain what the Northern-”

Ash cut in, “Nope, please continue!”

“The celestial hemisphere is divided into four quadrants. Right now, you can see the June constellations the best, an example being the Boötes constellation. It contains the star Arcturus, the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and fourth brightest in general.” He placed a hand on Ash’s head, pointing upwards. Pikachu ran up to Ash’s shoulder, tilting his head at the sky. “That’s the third quadrant. You can also see two of the five northern circumpolar constellations, meaning they can be seen all year, since they’re so close to the poles.”

“How many are there in total?”

Kukui took his hand away, leaning against the hood of his car and staring up as well. “Eight in total. The five here are Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor. You can see Ursa Minor and Draco in the third quadrant. Ursa Minor is famous for the Little Dipper and the star Polaris, or the North Star. Oh, and did you know that the Draco constellation is the 8th largest constellation?”

Ash beamed, “I didn’t!” Kukui watched him scamper onto the hood of the car, arm brushing with his own as Pikachu hopped next to Ash. The radio still softly droned on, almost like its job was to provide background music for the scene. “I’m guessing the other three northern circum-whatever constellations are in the other quadrants?”

“Yep! The northern circumpolar constellation Cassiopeia is in quadrant one, Ursa Major in quadrant two, and Cepheus in quadrant four. In two hours, the July constellations would be seen best.”

“Ooooo! Like what?” Squeaking in curiosity, Pikachu’s tail twitched and patted Ash’s arm.

“The Corona Borealis, Hercules, and Serpens constellation can all be seen in the 3rd quadrant!”

“Whoa!”

“I know!” Kukui cheered, before flushing and keeping quiet. “Ahem, anyway, what do you want to do now?”

Ash leaned back against the car windscreen, pointing at a golden dot in the sky. “That one doesn’t glimmer like the rest. Is it a planet?”

Kukui stared between Ash and the dot. “...Of the five planets you can see in the ecliptic without a telescope, you just so happen to find the farthest one from Earth. That’s Saturn!” Ash cheered, cooing to Pikachu about how Saturn has the same color as him, both of them shining brighter than the moon. “It has many different rings and divisions. Of course, the best time to look at Saturn’s rings would be a month later when it’s closest to Earth and brightest, but...”

Ash froze. “Do you really not want me to go?” Pikachu tilted his head, tapping at Ash’s hand and giving a small yawn, laying next to him.

Hopping next to Ash on the car hood, Kukui muttered, “I don’t want you to go, but I understand that you want to. Honestly, I don’t blame you.” The radio cut in and out as they both stared up at the sky in silence. Kukui began a small hum, filling in the cracks in the song with his own voice like smoothing wood over with resin. “When you feel embarrassed then I'll be your pride… When you need directions then I'll be the guide… ” Ash’s chocolate eyes glimmered in empathy, and he sported a sweet and drowsy smile that melted like marshmallows in Tapu Cocoa.

“Can I leave my pokemon here?” Kukui blinked. “I mean, Alola has become my second home. I’m definitely going to come back-”

“Ok.” Ash and Kukui both startled at his sharp response. “I mean, I’m glad to.”

Ash’s eyes softened like butter over warmed toast as he scooted closer to Kukui, Pikachu climbing into his lap a moment later. “The world’s so big...”

“Space is so big, I don’t even know how to describe it.”

Shrugging, Ash patted Pikachu’s tail as his ears slowly twitched. “Then don’t. Science is amazing, but reality is so mysterious! I don’t care if we can’t scientifically explain something, keep that magic alive. Oh, some people use religion to explain things. I don’t personally believe legendaries are flawless gods, far from it, actually! But if that belief makes someone happy and they aren’t hurting anyone else with it, that’s great too!” Before Kukui could even respond, Ash shook his head. “But of course, what would I know? I don’t even understand most of that sciency stuff!”

Kukui reached forward and rubbed at Ash’s shoulder, their giggles spilling out like a waterfall, like neither of them ever knew any pain and sorrow in their life. “Promise me you’ll shine no matter where you are.” Pikachu grinned between the two of them, peeking up at the night sky.

Their breaths began to make themselves visible, like a mist of ghosts coming out to greet them. Pikachu curled his tail over himself, snuggling closer to Ash’s stomach and closing his eyes after a yawn. “I love this. We’re alone, but I don’t feel lonely. In fact, I feel so alive right now, it’s like the world doesn’t even matter!” Kukui stared into Ash’s eyes, which were twinkling like honey in Oran berry juice. “I hope everyone feels this in love with life at some point.”

Ash’s rosy cheeks glowed under the stars as he rubbed his hands together, cuddling Pikachu like a giant plush toy. “Wow, I… Are you cold, Ash?” Without even waiting for a response, Kukui slung an arm over Ash’s shoulder. “You know, it’s sorta amazing we’re able to see these sights.”

“Because of how precious life is?” Ash asked. Kukui stiffened, before internally melting like coming home after a long day at work.

“...I meant that the stars are always blocked by other light, so we don’t see them very often, but yeah, you’re right, how rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist.”

“Hm… I get what you mean.” Kukui startled, staring down at Ash once more as his eyes flickered with knowledge. “I mean, look at all this!” Gesturing up at the sky, Ash sported a soft smile on his face as he unconsciously rubbed at Pikachu’s cheeks. “The satellites and planes humans have built are just two of the many many examples of what I love about this world! This planet, all the land, the water, the air, all the sights and pokemon and people! It’s absolutely amazing how we’re alive! Sure, the world's not perfect, but it's not that bad.” 

“Yeah, the one planet that has just the right temperature, gravity, resources, evolution, and environment for conscious life. It is amazing how we’re able to appreciate things like stars right now.” Kukui agreed, before chuckling and nudging at Ash, both of them staring up at the stars. “Speaking of stars, we’re all made of stardust.” Ash could only muster a drowsy smile. “Can you believe it? That apart from hydrogen and helium and traces of lithium and beryllium, all other elements forming our bodies and making up this world came from star nuclear fusion reactions and nebulas and supernovas billions of years ago?”

“Wow! We really are more connected with nature than I thought… I may not understand the science behind it all, but I do realize how impermanent we are.” Shrugging, Ash punched Kukui right in the throat with his words as Ash grabbed his hand and stared him in the eyes. “We all die in the end, and- Ooooo your hand is warm!”

“...We’re just tiny specks on a rock hurtling through a void in the grand scheme of things, aren’t we? The Big Bang happened so long ago, and the world still goes on without us-”

Ash fake-coughed, giving Kukui a beaming smile that blinded Kukui more than staring at the sun and shocked him more than Pikachu’s Thunderbolt attack. “So enjoy it while it lasts! We’re souls driving a meat covered skeleton riding on a rock floating through an infinite cosmos. I think that’s pretty cool!”

“That’s... very mature of you, Ash.” Kukui hugged Ash closer with a proud grin. Ash winced, but nodded and leaned his head on Kukui’s shoulder, eyes half-lidding and hands simply laying on Pikachu’s fluffy fur.

“Hey, it is really cool!” Kukui hummed in agreement. “All these mysteries and possibilities… The point is, we’re all gonna die someday and nothing we do here matters, so why worry over anything? None of us owe the world anything for being alive. It’s not like the stars care what you do or who you are on this planet, so why actively live miserably or make others miserable?” Like how the sun set, Ash’s head drooped onto Kukui’s shoulder as he continued to mumble, “Every humiliation forgotten, every mistake meaningless. Instead, we can use our lives to experience new things, explore the world, bond with pokemon, help others… Just have fun and live how you want! Yes, there are bad things in the world, yes, there’s pain and suffering and insults, but everyone deserves to be happy when they’re alive. In life, there’s no set path, no real end goal, no race. It’s just an experience where you decide what its meaning is, so why waste it?”

Almost like dropping a mic, the radio silenced itself, leaving them all in complete silence. “...Make best of the time you have now, huh? Wow… Do keep that light, Ash.” He picked the sleeping Pikachu up and flicked at Ash’s cap. “May I ask why you’re so comfortable talking about things like death-”

“If we have each other... The future is an adventure, dad.” Ash’s cap dropped off his head into Kukui’s lap, displaying Ash’s closed eyes.

Kukui froze as Ash gave a small snore, before putting both the cap and Pikachu into the passenger seat and scooping Ash into his lap with a snicker. “Oh Ash, you’re so… I don’t even know anymore.” He ruffled Ash’s hair, mumbling with the toastiness of a thousand stars, “Let’s get you home, son.”

As the moon stood strong against the starry sky, a lovingly red car was peacefully still, a sense of warmth and light curling around the area like a hot shower after a cold day. The clouds were fluffy lumps of shiny Wooloo fur, slowly drifting along. Life is beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys are all doing well! If not, I hope at least the good outweighs the bad!
> 
> While this is inspired by https://ao3gangficprompts.tumblr.com/post/189482187698/bassiter-passenger-seat-by-death-cab-for-cutie and “Wanderer's Lullaby" by Adriana Figueroa,  
> I also included the quotes of the songs of three of my other favourite bands/artists. Anyone wanna guess?  
> Random trivia, the full moon in this story is the strawberry moon :D


End file.
